Was It Worth It?

“If wilderness is outlawed,only outlaws can save wilderness.” Edward AbbeyIn a collection ofgripping stories of adventure, Doug Peacock, loner, iconoclast,environmentalist, and contemporary of Edward Abbey, reflects on a life lived inthe wild, asking the question many ask in their twilight years: “Was It WorthIt?”Recounting sojournswith Abbey, but also Peter Matthiessen, Doug Tompkins, Jim Harrison, YvonChouinard and others, Peacock observes that what he calls “solitary walks” werethe greatest currency he and his buddies ever shared. He asserts that “solitudeis the deepest well I have encountered in this life,” and the introspection itaffords has made him who he is: a lifelong protector of the wilderness and itsmany awe-inspiring inhabitants.With adventures bothclose to home (grizzlies in Yellowstone and jaguars in the high Sonoran Desert)and farther afield (tigers in Siberia, jaguars again in Belize, spirit bears inthe wilds of British Columbia, all the amazing birds of the Galapagos), Peacockacknowledges that Covid 19 has put “everyone’s mortality in the lens now andit’s not necessarily a telephoto shot.” Peacock recounts these adventures totry to understand and explain his perspective on Nature: That wilderness is theonly thing left worth saving.In the tradition ofPeacock’s many best-selling books, Was It Worth It? is bothentertaining and thought provoking. It challenges any reader to make certainthat the answer to the question for their own life is “Yes!” Read more